Chap 4

BASIC JOURNALISM
Topic 4 News Lead

By the end of this topic, you should be able
to:
Define what is a lead;
Differentiate the various types of lead; and
Explain the various ways to write a lead.
INTRODUCTION
In journalism terms, the first paragraph of
a news story is called the lead
(pronounced as leed).
The lead is also called the intro. The

purpose of the lead is to reveal the
content of the news to the readers as
quickly as possible.
The lead has to entice the readers to

continue reading the story until the end.
The lead or the intro refers to the first
paragraph in a news story.
Itis the most important component of a

news story.
The lead is defined as the opening

paragraph of a news item.
InNews stories, the lead summarises the

main facts.
4.1 THE LEAD

The lead summarises the news story.
The lead answers a basic question: What is

the story all about? Most news stories that
appear in the media are written in this
way.
The second paragraph of the news story
explains further the subject matter that is
raised in the first paragraph.
The lead refers not only to the first
paragraph but it can be used to
denote other things to journalists.
The lead in this instance is also used to

refer to the main idea of a story. Because
of this you will find that an editor will
often ask the question: “What is the lead
of the story?” The editor is expecting that
you will give a quick summary of the
story.
The word lead can be used as an idea
for a news story.
You would use the word to ask your source:

“Do you have a lead for a news story?”
You are expecting the source to convey
something new that can be explored
further as news.
Dateline
 The dateline usually consists of two pieces of
information:
 -the name of a town or city; and
 -a date (In some newspapers, the date is
replaced by a day in a week).
 To journalists on the ground, the dateline

informs the editor where and when the story was
filed.
To mass media audience, the dateline serves
to tell where and when an event took place.
4.2 THE DATELINE

 Determining the name of the town in the
Dateline.
In determining the name of the town to be included in
the dateline, there are three guidelines you should
used as follows:
 Choose a town or city that is easily recognisable
KOTA BARU, Tues. – Police have detained a couple

in connection with the death of a 14-month-old infant
believed to have been a victim of child abuse.
(New Straits Times, January 29, 2003)

Similar name of major towns.
You will notice that the names of some of the
major towns in Malaysia are used in two
states, for example Kepala Batas is found in
Penang and Kedah. Serdang is another name
that is also found in Selangor and Kedah.
Under such circumstances, you should use
the name of the town followed by the name
of the state in the dateline.
The dateline will be written as follows:

KEPALA BATAS, Kedah or
KEPALA BATAS, Penang
Exception to the rule for United Nations
The name of the state is written in the
dateline so as not to confuse the audience
about the geographical location of the event.
 There is however an exception to the rule for
using the name of a major town or city in the
lead.
The exception is for United Nations.
 You know that the United Nations is seated in New York,
but New York is never used as the dateline for news
originating from the offices of the United Nations.
 You would use United Nations as the dateline. Any stories
originating outside the offices of the United Nations in New
York shall use New York as its dateline.
Each newspaper uses a specific style of
writing the dateline to differentiate itself
from the other newspapers.
The following are the different styles of
writing datelines for the various
newspapers:
Journalists visualise and think how to

present a news story before even going to
the scene. They would have thought of
how to present the facts of the story in
the most interesting manner.
4.2.1 Style of Writing Dateline

-The various categories of leads are devised just for the purpose of
educating students who wish to become a journalist.
-Essentially, there are two categories for classifying the various

types of leads. They are:
-The 5Ws and 1H is proposed as one of the categories in cataloguing

news lead because it allows student to appreciate the different types
of lead used.
4.3 TYPES OF LEADS

This is the first of the two types of
category for classifying leads.
This method of classification categorizes

various types of leads according to each
of the questions in 5Ws or 1H: Who,
What, Where, When, Why and How.
4.3.1 5Ws and 1H

This is a simplified method of classifying the
various types of leads.
-single element lead; and
-summary lead.
The single element lead is the most common

type of lead used by journalists. All the six
types of leads classified according to the
various questions are actually single element
lead.
4.3.2 Single Element and

Summary Lead
Single element lead
- The single element lead is actually the

work horse of journalism.
-The lead contains only one important
highlighted fact. The reporter chooses to
highlight a particular fact because it
represents the most important fact.
-The use of one important element in the
lead allows a reporter write news item
quickly.
-The remaining paragraphs in a news item
will elaborate further the material that is
presented in the lead.
 Summary lead
The summary lead is used when there are
several important events that occurred at the
same time. In this case, the reporter covering
the news will opt for a lead that summarises the
various things that are happening
simultaneously.
The single element lead is the most common

type of lead used by journalists. All the six types
of leads classified according to the various
questions are actually single element lead.
A lot of thinking would have taken place before you
begin to write the opening paragraph of a piece of
news. The thinking process depends on whether you
have gathered all the relevant information of any
event.
In order to find an appropriate lead, you should ask

yourself the following questions:
These questions are designed to:
-prompt you on an appropriate lead or opening
paragraph for your news;
 focus on the essence of any given event; and
 check and weigh all your gathered facts. The collated
facts should guide you on how to start off the story.
4.4 WRITING THE LEADS

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BASIC JOURNALISM

Topic 4 News Lead

Define what is a lead;

Differentiate the various types of lead; and

Explain the various ways to write a lead.

The lead is also called the intro. The

The lead has to entice the readers to

Itis the most important component of a

The lead is defined as the opening

InNews stories, the lead summarises the

4.1 THE LEAD

The lead answers a basic question: What is

The lead in this instance is also used to

You would use the word to ask your source:

 To journalists on the ground, the dateline

4.2 THE DATELINE

 Choose a town or city that is easily recognisable

KOTA BARU, Tues. – Police have detained a couple

(New Straits Times, January 29, 2003)

The dateline will be written as follows:

Journalists visualise and think how to

4.2.1 Style of Writing Dateline

-Essentially, there are two categories for classifying the various

-The 5Ws and 1H is proposed as one of the categories in cataloguing

4.3 TYPES OF LEADS

This method of classification categorizes

4.3.1 5Ws and 1H

The single element lead is the most common

4.3.2 Single Element and

- The single element lead is actually the

The single element lead is the most common

In order to find an appropriate lead, you should ask

4.4 WRITING THE LEADS

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